The Great Son of the Irish Nation

A cold spring day, March 17. The courtyard of the State Library for Foreign Literature. Romantic airs of Irish music. Small groups of people. Some of them are installing cameras of different sizes and calibers; others are actively discussing something. Everybody is anticipating a significant event, the unveiling of the artwork, the statue of a son of Ireland, James Joyce.
You will ask why James Joyce? Why not Oscar Wilde? Why not Bernard Shaw? The story told by the director of the State Library for Foreign Literature, E.Y. Genieva is really amazing. Once wandering in the side-streets of St. Petersburg she dropped in an antique shop where among various precious things was hidden a small statuette of James Joyce, as it turned out later made by the Russian sculptor Mikhael Yakovlev. E.Y. Genieva was so enchanted by the bronze statuette that she did everything for the creation and the placing of a bigger representation in the courtyard of the library. Due to numerous efforts and the active collaboration of Russian cultural workers and Irish representatives, this brilliant idea was realized, and now the result can be observed by all visitors of the State Library for Foreign Literature.
But what role does the installation of this statue play for common residents of Moscow? Is it a secret that Russians actively show their interest in Irish culture? The love of Irish literature, dancing and music has been glimmering for a long time. Once a year on St. Patrick’s Day that love bursts into flames and lights up all those who are familiar with Irish traditions or have slightly heard of them. That love spins in the twirls of Irish dance, bringing you to a pub or a concert hall to listen to a bagpipe, a harmonica, a Celtic harp, or just makes you a participant in the loud and bright St. Patrick’s Day Parade on Novy Arbat. That love does not die during the year either. We keep on listening to Irish music; we keep on dancing; we keep on reading Irish literature.
As the ambassador of Ireland neatly remarked at the unveiling ceremony of the statue, “Russia and Ireland are separated by history, by geographical position; but they are united by their love of reading”. In this case, James Joyce has become the object of that unity. He was an inspiration to the giants of thought and word like Tolstoy and Dostoevsky. He was a source of inspiration for other Russians: Andrey Bely, Nabokov, Eisenstein. He was one of the greatest artists of the 20th century, a foremost figure in European modernism. “As Marina Tsvetaeva was a singer of Moscow, he was a singer of Dublin,” said E.Y. Genieva. However, he was unique in combining the life of Dublin with the life of Europe. He succeeded in the integration of the European community by highlighting certain links and parallels in his works. Thus he has become closer to Russian culture. No wonder his bronze representation has found a shelter in a tranquil courtyard of the boisterous city of Moscow.
All in all, this sculpture serves as a contribution to the development of Russian-Irish relationships, to expanding their horizons and mutual enrichment. Nevertheless, it is first a piece of art in which the sculptor managed to capture the vision and spirit of the great son of the Irish nation, James Joyce.